(2,9-Dimethyl-1,10-phenanthroline-κ(2)N,N')bis-(thio-cyanato-κS)mercury(II).

The asymmetric unit of the title compound, [Hg(SCN)(2)(C(14)H(12)N(2))], contains two complex mol-ecules in which the Hg(II) atoms are both four-coordinated in a distorted tetra-hedral configuration by two N atoms from a chelating 2,9-dimethyl-1,10-phenanthroline ligand and by two S atoms from two thio-cyanate anions. The 1,10-phenanthroline ligand is slightly folded for one complex, the dihedral angle between the pyridine planes being 5.3 (1)°. In contrast it is nearly planar [0.5 (1)°] as it complexes with the other Hg(II) atom. The thio-cyanate ligands are virtually linear and the S atom is bonded to Hg(II) with N⋯S-Hg angles ranging from 99.3 (1) to 103.5 (1)°. Despite the presence of six aromatic rings in the asymmetric unit, there are no significant inter-molecular π-π contacts between phenanthroline ligands as the centroid-centroid distance of the closest contact between six-membered rings is 4.11 (1) A°.